


A Plague of Nightmares

by Lora_Blackmane



Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Don't worry you won't see the oc's much minus like the beginning and end, Gen, I'm Gonna Get Beaten Up After Posting This Aren't I?, I'm Taking a Whole Lot of Liberties With This, Self Care Is Having The Mind Electric On Full Blast As You Write Angst, The 1st Chapter is All Angst Though, The Fluff Is Chapter Two, Things Will Be Explained Next Chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:22:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lora_Blackmane/pseuds/Lora_Blackmane
Summary: Molly and Giovanni go to check on Sylvie after one of his colleagues come looking for him at the toy emporium. Will they be prepared for what they find though?
Relationships: Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage
Comments: 26
Kudos: 174





	A Plague of Nightmares

Molly walked to the Blyndeff Toy Emporium from the bus stop, ready to start a new shift. Well… she wasn't really ready to work today, she was actually supposed to do homework, but her sister ditched her shift. So… here she was. As she got to the door she removed the store keys from her pocket and started to unlock the door-

"Hello there!"

Molly jumped at the voice, dropping the keys to the store on the ground. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you, I thought I was making enough noise as I approached."

Molly's keys floated back up to her hands; surprising her again, but she didn't focus on that as she grabbed them. Instead, she focused on the newcomer who had startled her. The person had long blue hair and hoop earrings, and was wearing a black suit. The newcomer waved at her before speaking again.

"I'm sorry for startling you miss Molly. I'm so sorry, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Loraine. I'm a psychiatrist - well, I'm training to be one right now. I'm just the receptionist at the center. Honestly, it's quite hectic; I have no idea how we get things done sometimes considering how many times I've found someone passed out in some random nook - I'm rambling again. So sorry. Anyway, I was wondering if you've seen Dr. Ashling in the past few days?"

It took Molly a minute to take in what the woman had said. "Um… no, actually. I haven't heard from him at all this week."

Loraine sighed. "Damn, I was hoping you had. At least we would know if he's ok…"

"Wait, is he not at work?"

"No, in fact, he hasn't been at work in the past three days. The rest of us have been covering for him, but if the boss finds out soon I'm worried he'll get fired."

Molly frowned at that statement. She knew how important his job was to him, psychiatry was one of his favorite topics to talk about when he visited the store. Molly didn't understand all of it, but he was always willing to explain a word or phrase she didn't know so she could. Having to find a new job that might not involve it would crush him. "If… if you want I can go see if he's ok."

Loraine perked up at that. "Really? You would?" 

Molly nodded, and Loraine's smile grew before she tackled Molly in a hug. "Thank you so much, Molly!"

"Yeah, no problem 'mam." 

"Oh you don't have to call me 'mam, you can just call me Loraine." Just as Molly was going to respond the watch on Loraine's arm started to beep. "Oh, looks like my lunch break is over." 

Loraine turned and ran, screaming out another thank you before focusing on trying to get back to the office on time. Molly watched her go before pulling out her phone and dialing a number she now knew by heart. It rang once before she got a loud reply. "Hello Bear Trap! Do you need me to bust you out of that boring job and go on a daring heist?! I found this really cool place while me and the boys were loitering yesterday!"

"Not exactly… Hey, boss, can you help me with something?"

* * *

"Hey Sylvie?" She knocked on the door of his apartment and waited. When he didn't answer she knocked again, hoping he'd hear it this time. But, again, he didn't answer. Just as she was about to try one last time she heard Giovanni mutter behind her. "Alright, this is taking too long."

Giovanni pulled out his Soul Slugger Doom Bat, and, before Molly could stop him, slammed it into the door! It made a horrible cracking sound, like a wooden doll being crushed under a boot, before giving in and opening. Giovanni casually strolled in with Molly trailing after him, looking worriedly at the broken doorway before deeming it a necessary sacrifice and focusing on finding Sylvie again. But, neither of them got far before they paused their search; worry causing their blood to chill.

Sylvie's apartment was a mess. Papers and books scattered across the ground. Most of the furniture had been turned on its side or was now at an entirely new place in the room. Despite it still being the afternoon, the windows in his apartment let no light in, making it seem as though it was night. Giovanni went to turn on the lights, only to let out a panicked yelp and quickly turn them off as one of the light bulbs (or the remnants of one) sparked like a firecracker.

Giovanni let out a nervous laugh. He slowly turned towards Molly, and with a strained voice said, "Hey Bear Trap… can you go outside just for a second? I think we came to the wrong apartment."

Molly quickly complied with Giovanni's order, hoping with all her heart that he was right. But no, the apartment number (215) was indeed Sylvie's. What had happened here?

Molly quickly rejoined Giovanni. "Boss… I'm scared." 

Giovanni leaned down slightly and patted Molly on the back. "Hey, it's ok. I'm sure he's fine Bear Trap. Remember how well he fought in the museum?" Molly nodded, but she wasn't convinced. She could tell Giovanni wasn't either.

_Creak_

Giovanni jumped at the sound, pulling his bat up into attack mode as Molly hid behind his leg. One of the doors in the hallway had opened, letting in a little bit of light. They slowly approached it, acting as if it would suddenly attack. As if whatever was behind it would hurt them. When they got close enough, Giovanni gently pushed the door further open, trying to make as little sound as possible. She watched him, holding one of the knitting needles Giovanni gave her like a knife in one hand. They were both holding their breath as the door finally opened enough for them to see inside.

Someone was sitting in the center of the room.

They could make out horns on his head. 

Giovanni let out a sigh of relief. "And here I thought something bad happened to you, kid. What happened to your apartment by the way? It looks like someone robbed you."

The doctor didn't answer them.

Molly grabbed Giovanni's arm. "Boss? Are you… are you sure that's him?" 

“Of course it is, Bear Trap, who _else_ has horns like that?” That wasn't what she meant, he knew that, but he couldn't bring himself to answer the true question. Because there was something wrong with Doctor Beefton, he could sense it. And he was sure Molly could too. And whatever it was, he wasn't going to let it hurt her. Which is why he pushed Molly behind him before saying, "Stay here ok? I'll go check on the nerd."

Giovanni walked into the room, on high alert despite acting casual, and stopped near Dr. Beefton. “Hey nerd, you’re sort of freaking Molly out y’know?” He placed a hand on Dr. Beefton's shoulder-

And suddenly, quicker than a lighting strike, he got up and slammed into Giovanni. Giovanni flew back and slammed into the ground next to Molly, groaning.

“BOSS!”

Her scream alerted Dr. Beefton, causing him to shift his focus onto her. He stood up, towering and intimidating her in height even from a distance. He kicked up a cloud of dust and lowered his horns towards her, readying to ram into her. Molly took a step back to try to get away - she wouldn’t make it he’s about to charge-

“Teleports behind you.”

Molly was grabbed by her jacket’s hood and lifted up like a baby kitten before being thrown to her right, back into the living room. She landed on the couch, which had been shoved in front of the kitchen, and groaned as she got back up. She looked back up just in time to see him slam into the wall behind where she had been standing - causing a cloud of dust to appear and pieces of it to go flying across the hallway.

He stood there dazed for a moment, barely illuminated by the dim light of the hallway, but it was enough for Molly and Giovanni to get a better look at him. 

He was no longer the bright, lively orange he had been at the museum; instead a shade closer to red, with thousands of pale cyan cracks covering his skin. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, like the dolls in Molly’s store, and his glasses were cracked.

“Whoa dude, what the hell happened to you?” Dr. Beefton didn’t answer. Well... not with words.

He grabbed a chunk of the wall and chucked it at the two of them. Molly rolled off the couch and crawled behind it, while Giovanni jumped to the left... Into Dr. Beefton’s range. He grabbed onto Giovanni’s cape and threw him across the room, destroying what little part of a shelf that hadn’t collapsed, then turned towards Molly. He took a step closer, and another-

An orb of tomato soup slammed into his side, causing him to stop. “That is enough kid! Seriously, what the hell!”

Beefton seemingly ignored his hit, but Molly could see that it made him even angrier.

“Boss, I don’t think that’s-” Giovanni threw several more orbs of soup at him, throwing him off balance for a second, and dealing quite a bit of damage this time. Huh. “Come on, Bear Trap!” He threw another orb as he screamed, “We can take him!”

She wasn't entirely sure she believed that; but right now their only option was to fight. “Okay! Um- uh take this!”

She threw a piece of wood at him, which did a bit of damage. Far more than she had expected actually (-5!), but it didn’t do much to deter Dr. Beefton. She threw another piece, this time hitting his head and causing him to fall. For a moment, he didn’t move.

And then another.

...Maybe he’d stay down-

Dr. Beefton sprang back to life with a roar and threw the coffee table at Molly. She dropped down to the floor, causing it to barely miss her.

“Stay **down**!” Giovanni slammed the Soul Slugger Doom Bat into Dr. Beefton’s head, hoping to knock him out with the blow. But this time, his attack did no damage to the doctor. It just made him angrier, causing him to stamp one of his hooves and bellow, **"Counting Sheep!"**

"No fair! He's got super strength and can _also_ summon an army?! That’s OP man! Pick one or the other, nerd!"

But the sheep came despite his protests, emerging from Dr. Beefton’s aura. Their wool was a mixture of reddish orange and the same cyan color of the cracks in his skin, flickering and crackling like fire. They charged at the two, letting out a chorus of angry baas.

Giovanni panicked and started to swing his Soul Slugger Doom Bat wildly, as if there were hundreds of baseballs coming at him at once. The sheep weren't baseballs, but they moved as fast as them, so the frenzy of movement was working well! But, a few got through his quick strikes, going after Molly. She tried to use hushabye on one; but couldn’t due to their quick movements. She had to change tactics this time. She moved back, throwing things she found on the ground at them as she did so - depleting their health and making them vanish surprisingly quickly. 

But her luck soon fell short - literally. Molly tripped on a fragment of the broken shelf, grabbing onto the curtain as she fell. It ripped slightly from the force of the pull and let light into the room. Both the sheep and the doctor suddenly froze, then slowly turned towards Molly and the window. She could see Sylvie now, the light barely shining on him, before her view of him was obstructed by a pair of horns pointed at her. Uh oh.

Molly quickly turned and grabbed the rest of the curtain to frantically try to pull the rest down as Dr. Beefton started to charge. Just as he got close the curtain ripped the rest of the way, causing both more light shine on Dr. Beefton and for Molly to fall out of his path. He slammed into the wall next to the window, where the light was brightest. The light, which wasn’t obstructed by his coat, shined on Sylvie - slowly pulling him out of his sleep.

**_Finally_ ,**Doctor Beefton started to vanish, leaving only them and Sylvie in the apartment. Unlike the last time they fought, Sylvie immediately stood up, albeit with quite a bit of difficulty. The light from the window shone on him like a spotlight, helping Molly and Giovanni get a better look at him. His eyes had large bags under them, a horrifying contrast to his pale skin. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, just as Doctor Beefton's had been. The worst thing though, the worst thing was his epithet. Like most epithets the aura of his couldn't be seen (except for when… when it was being transferred to and from the amulet); but right now? It rolled off him in thick clouds - the color of it no longer just orange. Instead it clashed with sickly bright blues and greens, battling within the clouds for control. Each time they seeped into one another, Sylvie flinched slightly, but gave no other indication that he noticed it.

“...S-Sylvie…?”

His eyes widened and he flinched away from her, taking a step back. But his legs gave away under him, causing him to fall."No - no...! get **_away_ **!" 

The clouds radiating off him suddenly turned into fiery sheep, which stood in front of him and let out low growl-like sounds at Giovanni and Molly. She backed up, bumping into the wall behind her to try to give them as much room as possible. She realized that Giovanni hadn’t moved, causing her to whisper in a panic. “Boss, get over here! I’m _pretty_ sure those guys will bite! Don’t you remember how hard they nibble?!”

Giovanni didn't say anything, his gaze intense as he looked at Sylvie. Then, he started to walk towards Sylvie, causing several of the sheep to start biting him. 

"Giovanni!"

He kept going, not letting the sheep stop him from approaching Sylvie (whose breath was steadily becoming more and more rapid as he tried to move away). He stopped a little bit away from the kid, crouched down, and spoke. "Ki- Sylvie."

Sylvie stopped trying to get away and looked up at Giovanni, who whispered, "Can you tell me who I am?"

Sylvie stared at him for what felt like forever, making Giovanni wonder if this would even work.

“...Giovanni…?” Recognition flickered within his eyes, giving them life again, and the sheep suddenly calmed down. They didn’t back away, but they stopped biting and growling at Molly and that’s all Giovanni could ask for right now.

He let out a sigh of relief. “That’s right. Now, can you tell me who she is?” He pointed to Molly, who was still standing near the window.

“...Mo-molly?” The sheep backed away from the two, giving them room to breathe. Giovanni relaxed, more comfortable now that Molly wasn’t in harm's way… for now. They weren’t out of the woods yet.

“That’s right Sylvie.” He slowly placed a hand on his shoulder and quietly asked, "Can you tell me where we are?"

  
  


Sylvie slowly looked around the room, taking everything in. "We're - at an apartment I think… is this my apartment?" 

Giovanni flinched. Okay, maybe that wasn't a good question to ask, considering it had been trashed. But, he answered despite his discomfort. "Yes, but I'm pretty sure we can fix everything."

"Did someone attack us?" Giovanni didn't even get to answer when Sylvie's eyes widened with realization. "Oh-oh god… I attacked - I attacked you guys didn’t I?" His breathing picked up as he fell into a panic once again.

Dammit. “Hey, hey, calm down kid. Don’t you remember how we met? A little duel between friends ain’t gonna make us go away. I’m sorry to say this, but you’re totally stuck with us.”

“Yeah, no refunds allowed!”

"Absolutely, Bear Trap! Now come on, let's get you to bed. Seriously, have you slept at _all_ in the past few days? You look like garbage, kid." Giovanni picked up Sylvie, who, for once, didn't complain about being called kid or bite back with his own scathing remark, which made Giovanni even more concerned. He carried Sylvie to his room (it took him several tries to find it - why were there so many doors in this one hallway?). Sylvie fell asleep before Giovanni even found his bedroom, the past three days catching up to him. It was surprisingly pristine compared to the rest of the apartment; not a single thing thrown or broken. There was a bunch of paperwork on the ground near the desk though, which Molly picked up as Giovanni laid him down on the bed (and definitely didn't tuck him in - definitely not, he had a reputation to uphold). Molly came up behind him, holding a stuffed sheep plushie he recognized from their hospital visit, and placed it gently in Sylvie's arms. They left the room; gently closing the door behind them. They stood in the hallway, neither of them wanting to be the first to speak.

Then, after a moment had passed Molly turned to look at Giovanni and asked, "Is he going to be ok?" 

"...I don't know kid. But he needs help, and all we can do right now is be there for him. And that’s what we’re going to do, right?"

Molly nodded, causing Giovanni to grin. "That's my minion. Now, I’m gonna make the little brat some soup for when he wakes up. He’ll probably be hungry.”

"I'll help!"

"Isn't your dad expecting you to work at the toy store right now?"

Molly hesitated for a second. "Yeah, well… he can do it himself!" 

Giovanni let out a laugh and walked into the apartment’s kitchen; him and Molly cleaning it up a bit before starting to cook.

**Author's Note:**

> I have completely accepted I am going to be murdered after posting this. Go ahead do it. I'm *this* close to going nuts anyway! Shoutout to Nov on discord, who y'all might know as @dr-sylvester-ashling on Tumblr for checking this and helping me edit. Lesson learned kids, never try to edit at 12 am after a stressful day.


End file.
